


Serendipitous

by I May Age Regress (shnuffeluv)



Series: Gibbs' Family [5]
Category: NCIS
Genre: Age Play, Coloring, Exposition, Family Dinners, Gen, How Do I Tag, Non-Sexual Age Play, Pre-Season/Series 01, it's a simple storyline but almost 2500 words long
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-23
Updated: 2018-04-23
Packaged: 2019-04-26 21:24:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,472
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14410851
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shnuffeluv/pseuds/I%20May%20Age%20Regress
Summary: Ducky and Abby have been having a hard couple days with difficult cases. Abby has figured out how to feel better. Ducky learns her secret, and joins in his own way.ORThe backstory for how Ducky found out about Abby regressing.





	Serendipitous

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry this one took a while, everybody! Writer's block and depressive episodes clearly get along, just not with me. But we're back up and running! This one was inspired by an anonymous commenter by the name of GibbsForever. Hope you emjoy!

Ducky sighed in autopsy. He was working with a man down, making him feel strung out and worn down. He needed the end of the day to arrive, and it was only three in the afternoon. Too many bodies had come his way recently, and it didn't help that there were a few children in the mix. Maybe Abby would know a way to cheer him up. She had been subdued recently, but had bounced back in the last day or so. What her secret was, Ducky needed to know.

Considering he had just finished the paperwork on the latest body he had been working on, he decided to go visit Abby before he had to be called away for yet another examination in the field. He took the steps in hopes that he wouldn't run into Gibbs. He liked the man, of course, but running into him would mean that he'd be dragged into something or another that he didn't have the energy to deal with.

When he approached Abby's lab, however, something was different. Her door was shut, and Gibbs was standing on the outside, knocking on it. "Abby! Come on, open up!" he called.

"Something the matter, Jethro?" Ducky asked, approaching the door himself.

"Abby isn't opening her door and DiNozzo, Blackadder, and I are going to have to leave any minute. I wanted to see if she had any leads before we left," Gibbs grumbled.

"Go ahead and focus on your case, Jethro, I'll see if I can help with Abigail," Ducky said.

Gibbs sent a skeptical look to the door as he left, but he didn't stay any longer. He couldn't afford to. Ducky couldn't afford this either, really, but he had the excuse of being a man down and having to hand-deliver samples, of course. Ducky knocked on the door. "Abigail? Are you all right? I was hoping to talk to you."

He listened to see if there was any reply, but all he could hear was faint sniffling. Concern started to replace his curiosity. "Abigail?" he pressed.

Still, no response. Ducky hated to do this, but he brought out his key ring and selected the one to the forensics lab that Abby had given him in case he was working late and needed to drop something off at night. He slid it into the lock and opened the door, stepping inside quietly and closing the door behind him. "Abigail?" he asked softly.

There was a soft intake of breath from behind a table filled with evidence. Ducky approached it slowly, and looked over it to find Abby's signature ponytails. "Abigail, are you all right?" he asked.

After a considerable pause, he heard a small "Mm-mm."

Ducky frowned. The voice was undeniably Abby's, but it sounded different than normal in a way he was having difficulties describing. "Do you need any help, dear girl?" he asked.

"Mm-hm."

Ducky rounded the table and found Abby sitting on the ground, shattered glass around her. "What happened?" he asked.

Abby shrugged. "I dunno. I was under the table to get one of the specimen jars that had dropped, and I guess I hit my head, and a couple beakers fell," she said softly.

Ducky tutted and offered her his hands. "Here, let me help you up, we can clean up the shards together if necessary."

Abby took the offered hands and managed to successfully avoid getting stabbed with any glass as she stood. "Thanks," she said, her eyes not leaving the floor. "I guess I should really know my own lab better."

Ducky shrugged. "Nobody's perfect, dear girl," he brushed off. "Come on, away from the glass a moment."

For some reason, Ducky felt the need to protect Abby from the shards of glass on the floor. He didn't understand why, because Abby was a grown woman, but he had learned long ago to not question how he felt around Abby. The answers he received would only give him more questions in return.

Abby stepped over the glass and Ducky hummed. "There wasn't anything in those beakers, was there?" he asked.

"Just some water in one," Abby said. "Nothing dangerous."

Ducky nodded and walked to the nearest corner of the lab, grabbing a dust pan and a broom. "I'll take care of the glass, dear girl, you just make sure nothing else is unnecessarily disturbed."

Abby nodded and Ducky swept the glass up and quickly disposed of it, turning to Abby, who was reorganizing the items on the table. "Dear girl, now that the glass is taken care of, would you mind telling me what has made you so distressed?"

Biting her lip, Abby shrugged. "I just got startled by the glass, I guess. And my head hurt a lot."

Ducky frowned. Curiouser and curiouser. "But nothing else has been bothering you?"

"Not to the point of crying," Abby shrugged off. "I guess I'm just feeling a little off today."

"Ah, that reminds me of why I wanted to talk to you," Ducky said. "The last time you felt 'a little off' was a few days ago and the next time I saw you, it was as if you had never had a problem to worry about in your life! how do you do that?"

"Oh." Abby's eyes darted away and she shifted on her feet. "I do...this thing to help me calm down sometimes, and make me feel a little better. Not many people have heard of it, at least not outside psychology circles. It's called age regression?"

Well, that wasn't what Ducky was expecting, but it wasn't bad. "What does that entail?"

"Um, usually? Hugging Bert and coloring some, or watching old cartoons that I liked growing up. It's nothing bad, just unusual," Abby said.

"Well there's nothing unusual about you doing something unusual," Ducky laughed. "It's part of the reason I love working with you. Never a dull moment."

Abby smiled. "Thanks."

"Now, this age regression, how well does it work for you?" Ducky asked.

Abby thought about it. "There's not like, a set amount of happiness I get from it, but it does help a lot. So like, the cases we've gotten with the kids recently, being able to go home and color has helped more than, say, drinking ever could," she said.

"Is there someone who cares for you during this time? I imagine if you are absorbed in what you are doing you may forget about other necessary parts of breaks, such as food or water," Ducky said.

"No, I haven't found a carer who's really the right fit for me, you know?" Abby said. "A lot of guys, they can be sweet, but they want favors in return, and I'm not about that."

"Understandably so," Ducky agreed. "I, for one, am appalled by such behavior. If anyone, woman or not, asked me for help, I would not ask for favors in return, especially if they were romantic in nature."

Abby got a spark in her eye that Ducky always recognized as her having an idea. "Well, Ducky, I might just ask you for a favor, then," she said.

"Oh?" Ducky prompted.

"If you're so curious about this, you could always see it in action," Abby said. "My place, say, six-ish?"

Ducky considered. He was, admittedly, curious, and his mother was about to move to a nursing home, but wasn't there yet, and she could prove to be trouble. But if he wasn't there would she be all right for the evening? She would be, he decided. After all, she was only showing early signs of dementia, the main reason she was moving out was in the case of an unlikely medical event Ducky wasn't there for. And one evening for a few hours wouldn't hurt anyone. "Sounds perfect, dear girl," Ducky said.

Abby's smile at the confirmation made Ducky's heart warm.

* * *

Ducky had followed Abby's car to her apartment, and he could feel his heart beating a little harder than normal, almost like if he had asked his first crush if she reciprocated his feelings. It was strange, especially because this was Abby, not anyone he had a romantic interest in. He shouldn't feel nervous.

So why was he?

He reasoned that it was just something unknown. He wasn't fooling himself--he was getting up there in age. It was rare that he came across something he hadn't seen in some shape or form before. But this was entirely foreign.

Abby came over to him as he left his car. "Don't look so nervous on my account, Ducky!" she teased.

"Do I really come across as that uncertain?" Ducky laughed.

"No," Abby admitted. "But I know what it means when you get quiet."

Ducky laughed and the two walked into Abby's apartment building. "Is there anything you expect of me in this situation, dear girl?" he asked.

Abby shrugged. "I mean, not really? Everyone's different, so I don't have set expectations. As long as you, like, remind me to take breaks when I need them, and help me with dinner and that sort of thing, you'll be fine."

"How utterly impersonal," Ducky tutted.

Abby laughed. "Well, like I said, Duck-man: everyone's different. Some people who do this will be super strict and uptight, others will be really relaxed and let you do whatever if it doesn't hurt anyone. You can't tell someone super strict you want them to be more relaxed! Well, I mean, you can, but it likely won't end well."

"I imagine not," Ducky conceded.

They stopped outside Abby's apartment and Abby unlocked the door, letting both of them in, before turning around and locking it again. "I always lock the door during this. Never know when you might fall asleep, and you'd want your door locked."

Ducky just nodded, looking around Abby's apartment. It had darker red walls, but not to the point where it looked black. There were black accents everywhere, from the table to the curtains. The brightly colored toys he could see scattered around the living room, as well as the coloring book full of princesses on the table were a striking contrast to the apartment's gothic style.

Abby laughed. "What's got you so interested about my apartment?" she asked.

Ducky focused on Abby and smiled. "It just suits you, dear girl."

"Thanks, I think," Abby laughed again. "So..."

"So?" Ducky prompted.

"I...don't really know where to go from here," Abby said, her voice going soft with uncertainty. "Honestly it's been a while since anyone has agreed to do this."

Ducky hummed in thought, and checked his watch. It was just past six. "Well, I imagine you'll be hungry soon. How about you get settled while I start up dinner for the both of us?"

"You sure?" Abby asked.

Ducky shrugged. "It's not any skin off my nose, my dear."

Abby smiled, already appearing more at ease. "That sounds good!" she said.

Ducky nodded and moved to where he assumed the kitchen was, turning on the light and looking around. He moved to the pantry, trying not to feel weird about looking through it for something to cook. After all, Abby had approved of his doing this.

Most of the food in the pantry was either preserved or junk food, although to Abby's credit, there wasn't too much junk food among the fruit cups and cans of soup, and there were ingredients to healthy food as well. After some consideration, Ducky pulled out two cans of lentil soup and began looking for a pot.

Abby's organization in the kitchen didn't make a lot of sense to Ducky, and he resolved that if this were to be a recurring event, as soon as his mother was out of the house, he would host Abby, just so he could know where everything  _was_. He did eventually find a pot, and set it on the stove, pouring the two cans into it and turning on the heat.

No sooner did he do so than Abby came in with a coloring book and crayons and sat at the island in the middle of the kitchen, setting up a spot to color. "Soup, huh?" she asked.

"Indeed," Ducky said. "It's a simple enough meal to prepare, after all. And quick, as well. I should think that after all the work you've done today, you must be hungry."

"A little," Abby allowed.

"Well then, this should be the perfect solution," Ducky said.

Abby nodded, absorbing herself in coloring. Ducky used the time he had while she was quiet for introspection, and was surprised to find that he was actually...relaxed. Happy, even, despite everything that had been going on. The simple act of helping Abby had done more good for him than anything he had ever tried in order to relax before.

Soon enough the soup was ready, and Ducky prepared two bowls. Abby pushed her coloring to the corner of the table, making room for her dinner. They ate in relative silence, both of them caught in their own thoughts. Abby talked a little bit about this and that, what she was coloring, or whatever had been causing stress at work and how glad she was to just unwind. Ducky always agreed with her or nodded along. When dinner was done, Ducky checked the time and realized it was almost seven thirty. "I should probably be going home soon," he said, feeling oddly disappointed as he did so.

"Oh, okay..." Abby said, voice going small.

"Here, let me do the dishes for you," Ducky said, taking her bowl of finished soup. "It's the least I can do after you offered me such a nice night."

Abby let him turn on the sink before saying anything next. "So, what are you going to do when you go home?"

Ducky hummed in thought. "Presumably prepare myself for bed, eventually. But before that I imagine I will be doing a bit more research into this."

"What?" Abby asked, looking at him with wide eyes.

"Well, I certainly enjoyed it, and I would be more than willing to assist you further in the future, but I do need to know how, first," Ducky said.

Abby grinned and ran over to him, hugging him. "I thought you didn't like it!" she said, tears in her eyes. "You'd really be willing to do this again?"

"Of course," Ducky agreed. "If you need it, feel free to come down to my office and let me know, and we can go to my house in the evening. If you are fine with that, of course. I don't want to force you into anything."

"That sounds great!" Abby exclaimed, holding Ducky at arms length before hugging him again. "Thank you thank you thank you!"

"You, my dear girl, are more than welcome," Ducky said with a soft smile.


End file.
